Wisconsin State Agency Power Plant Sales To Benefit Private Businesses; Who's Driving This Train?

Scott Walker is hell-bent to declare 37 state power plants "surplus" - - and sell them even without bids.

We need to know why Walker is so keen on this sop to private firms, and what other state assets, like office buildings, conservation areas, state forests and other resources he and his team want to take out of the public domain.

I am posting below the text about the power plant issue taken from a Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo dated March 10 - - note that the issue was deleted from the bill Republicans rushed to approval, and which is now enjoined by Dane County District Court Judge Maryann Sumi from publication - - that shows what the Walker administration had in mind and what it is likely to come back with as a separate bill or a section of the 2011-13 budget.

I am bold-facing what I think is important:

1.    SALE AND CONTRACTUAL OPERATION OF STATE-OWNED POWER PLANTS
Governor:

Allow the Department of Administration (DOA) to sell any state-owned heating, cooling, or power plant or contract with private entities for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount the Department determines to be in the best interest of the state.

Under current law, through June 30, 2011, DOA may sell state-owned property, if the Department determines that it is in the best interest of the state. The sale may be conducted using public bids, or negotiated prices. The Department may reject bids if they do not serve the state's interest. Such sales must be approved by the Building Commission. After June 30, 2011, such property would have to be declared surplus (property not needed for agency operations) in order

ADMINISTRATION

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to be sold by the state. In addition, the University of Wisconsin System Board may sell or dispose of property as allowed under statute and as is deemed beneficial to the System and the state. The bill would exempt the sale of state-owned heating, cooling and power plants from these current law requirements. Specify that DOA may attach conditions to the sale or contractual services agreement as it finds in the best interest of the state.

Specify that any outstanding public debt, including principal, interest, and premiums re- lated to refunding of the debt associated with a state-owned heating, cooling or power plant would be paid from the net proceeds of any sale of the property. Specify that property acquired, constructed, or improved using federal financial assistance would be repaid to the federal government through any net proceeds, if required under federal law. If there are any net proceeds after debt service, and repayments to the federal government have been completed, specify that remaining funds be deposited into the budget stabilization fund, unless the sale of property comes from the sale of property or assets at the Northern Center for the Developmentally Disabled, in which case the proceeds would be used for the current law purpose of deposits into the Department of Health Services institutional operations appropriation.

Specify that public utilities would not have to seek Public Service Commission (PSC) approval in order to buy or contract for the operation of a state-owned heating, cooling or power plant. Under current law, the PSC must approve and certify construction, renovation, improvement, expansion, sale, lease, and consolidation of electric generating facilities for public utilities. Public utilities are currently defined as an entity that provides heat, light, water, or power directly or indirectly to the public.

Specify that DOA would only be responsible for state power plants if they are owned and operated by the state. Under current law DOA must operate, maintain, and keep in repair certain state facilities, including the Capitol heating plant, and other power plants that are operated in conjuncture with state facilities.

If DOA sells or enters a contract for the operation of a state-owned heating, cooling, or power plant, unless otherwise agreed between DOA and the operator, specify that the purchaser or contractor would continue to operate the plant, keep it in good repair, and continue to provide adequate and sufficient heating, cooling and/or power to meet the state's current and future needs. Specify that the contract would also have to require the purchaser to submit to the jurisdiction of PSC, if the Commission determines that the purchaser or contractor qualifies as a public utility.

If it is determined that the purchaser or operator is not a public utility because it is not providing service directly or indirectly to the public, specify that PSC would regulate the facility as a public utility, if, upon the petition of DOA, PSC determines that it is in the interest of the public.

Require the DOA Secretary to require agencies to submit expenditure estimates for any appropriation related to the operation of a state-owned heating, cooling or power plant during a bi- ennium in which a plant is sold that provides services to that agency. The DOA Secretary would be required to deny estimates for the operation of the facility if the plant will be operated by a private entity. The Secretary could then allow the agency to expend these funds for payments of contractual services for heating, cooling and power. Specify that if the DOA Secretary determines that less funds would be needed to pay for heating, cooling, or power under a contract with

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a private entity, the Secretary may lapse or transfer from GPR or PR sum certain appropriations the estimated excess into the general fund, effective on the date in which the facility is no longer operated by the state.

Specify that, if a state-owned heating, cooling, or power plant is sold or a contract is agreed to for the operation of the facility, then the DOA Secretary could identify and delete any full-time equivalent positions authorized for the operation of the facility. The reduction of state positions would be effective on the date in which the facility is no longer operated by the state.

Specify that the DOA Secretary would have to notify the Co-chairpersons of the Joint Committee on Finance of any action taken to sell these facilities, delete agency position authority, payment of debt service, deposit funds into the budget stabilization fund, transfer or lapse appropriated amounts for the operation of plants into the general fund, or reallocate resources within appropriations for contracted services relating to purchasing contracted services.

The provision does not require the sale of state-owned heating, cooling or power plants, nor does it specify profit margins in the event of a sale. It is, therefore, unknown what amounts, if any, would be deposited into the budget stabilization fund from net proceeds or into the general fund from lapses and transfers from operating budgets.

The Department of Administration identifies 37 heating, cooling and power plants, includ- ing 14 at University of Wisconsin institutions, 13 at Department of Corrections facilities, five at Department of Health Services facilities and five at other agency facilities.

Since most of the heating, cooling, and power plants are tied into specific state facilities, it is likely that any purchase or lease would be agreed to only if there was an additional agreement requiring the state to purchase heating, cooling, and power from the purchaser or leaser. The long-term value of any sale, from the state's perspective, will hinge on any contractors ability to provide heating, cooling and power for less than it would cost to produce the same commodities on its own. The value from the perspective of any buyer or leaser would be based on that company's ability to recover more net profits (including sales price, production costs, and taxes and tax incentives) from the purchase or lease than in the absence of such a purchase or lease.

Joint Finance: Specify that the Department of Administration (DOA) could not sell, enter a lease, or contract for any of the operations of a state-owned heating, cooling or power plant unless such a transaction was approved by the Joint Committee on Finance under a 14-day passive review process. Require the Department of Administration to submit the following to the Committee as part of any request: (a) estimated value of the facility as determined by DOA and at least one qualified privately-owned assessor; (b) full cost of retiring remaining debt for the facility; (c) a cost benefit analysis that considers the short-term and long-term costs and benefits to the state for selling, leasing, or entering a contract for facility operations; (d) the length and conditions of any proposed sale, lease or service agreement between the state and a proposed purchaser; (e) the estimated budgetary impact for affected state agencies for at least the current and following biennium; and (f) any other information requested by the Committee.

Authorize the Building Commission to determine and make payments to the federal government so as to avoid an adverse effect on any exclusion of interest from gross income for
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federal income tax purposes on public debt, revenue obligations, appropriation obligations, operating notes, and master lease obligations and to make payments to advisors that assist in making the determination. This provision would allow the state to make payments to federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) so as to retain the tax exempt status of bonds issued to finance a power plant or facility in the event that plant or facility is subsequently sold to a private entity for which that tax exempt status would not apply. Under current law, the Building Commission has the authority to only make payments to federal government so that public debt, revenue obligations, and operating notes are not treated as arbitrage bonds. The payment provisions under the amendment are broad enough to continue to allow these payments to be made. The amendment would also modify the existing program revenue appropriation from which current law payments can be made to incorporate the payments allowed under the amendment.

Modify the portions of the bill relating to the payment of any debts owed on the heating, cooling and power plants in the event of a sale, lease, or contract for service to specify that debt service shall be repaid for the portion of a building project that was related to the construction of the heating, cooling, or power plant.

Require DOA to determine any actions that may be necessary or appropriate as to avoid an adverse effect on any exclusion of interest on such public debt from gross income for federal income tax purposes should a plant be sold, leased or where there would be a contractual services agreement. This may include payments to advisors or the IRS. Net proceeds from the sale of a plant would be in the following order, based on sufficiency of funds: (a) payments to advisors or the IRS determined by DOA to be necessary and appropriate; (b) the repayment of any federal funds used to acquire, construct, or improve the plant, that are required under federal law; (c) to deposit sufficient amounts in the bond security and redemption fund to repay the principal and the interest on any portion of the total debt used to construct the plant; and (d) budget stabilization fund.

Conference Committee: Delete provisions specifically relating to the sale or lease of power plants. Retain sections that would authorize the Building Commission to determine and make payments to the federal government so as to avoid an adverse effect on any exclusion of interest from the gross income for federal income tax purposes on public debt, revenue obligations, appropriation obligations, operating notes, and master lease obligations and make payments to advisors that assist in making the determination. This provision would allow the state to make payments to the IRS so as to retain the tax exempt status of the bonds issued to finance a state facility in the event such a facility is subsequently sold to a private entity for which that tax exempt status would not apply. Under current law, the Building Commission has the authority to only make payments to the federal government so that public debt revenue obligations and operating notes are not treated as arbitrage bonds. The payment provisions would continue to allow these payments to be made.
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What You Read Most Frequently Here Last Week

Here's last week's blog Top 10 - - with Scott Walker and Alberta Darling leading the hit parade:

Wisconsin Movement Against Scott Walker, Privatiza... Mar 14, 2011

Walker Video Supporting Recalls, Statewide Organiz... Mar 18, 2011

Walker Protest Saturday Doubles Size Of Washburn... Mar 13, 2011

Walker Budget, Union-Busting Hit Women Hard Mar 13, 2011

Scott Walker Celebrates Sunshine Week By Losing An... Mar 17, 2011

Alberta Darling's Campaign Website Touts Issues Th... Mar 16, 2011

Alberta Darling On Tape, Unguarded - - Loving Unio... Mar 16, 2011

In Wisconsin, Pesky Law Trips Up Dictatorial Repub... Mar 16, 2011

Club For Growth Throws Nazi-Era Reference Towards ... Mar 16, 2011

WalkerWorld Don't Abide Transit: Whiners - - Drive... Mar 16, 2011

Grassroots Northshore Candidates Forum Sunday; Information Reposted

Some web browsers may not have shown a graphic I posted about a forum Sunday night in Shorewood featuring Milwaukee County Executive candidate Chris Abele and Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenberg.

The forum will be held at Kingo Lutheran Church, 1225 E. Olive St.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., program begins at 7 p.m.

RSVP to mlpincus@wi.rr.com

Glenn Grothman Sticks It To His Constituents

One of Scott Walker's biggest fans and the state senator who distinguished himself on national television calling state protesters "slobs" is setting up his growing school district for a major funding cut.

What makes Glenn Grothman tick?

Hat tip to the Motley Cow blog for this bit of reportage.

Some Republican Legislators Think Walker's Trashing Of State Recycling Mandate, Funding Is Garbage

Here's a major crack in the Republican facade - - on behalf of recycling.

This is environmentalism and conservation 101 - - and we need to pressure more Republicans on this critical issue.

The Madison Judge Blocking The Union-Busting Bill Was A GOP Appointee In 1999

Thank you, then-Gov. Tommy Thompson (R).

See the bottom of this NY Times story.

Though that will not stop the people who misunderstand the role of the American jurist.

In Wisconsin, The Judge-Bashing Will Begin

How long, I wondered, would it take for the right to begin bashing Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi, a 1999 appointee of Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, who today blocked the implementation of the state's rushed-to-a-vote union busting bill.

Here's my answer, via Twitter:

"@WeirdNewsReport WeirdNewsReport

by zolqarnain

The Union bosses had judge Maryanne Sumi up their sleeve all the time. These renegade Judges should be impeached. #tcot #p2 #gop

7 minutes ago"

Republicans do not believe in checks and balances, unless it's campaign account checks and balances.

Alberta Darling, In Free Media Heaven, Flubs The Alphabet, Law-Making

The embattled and soon-to-be-recalled State Senator From River Hills, in at least her second gob of free air time this week on AM GOP 620 WTMJ radio, told conservative talker and GOP donor Charlie Sykes today that legislators dotted all the I's and crossed all the T's when they passed the union-busting bill.

Apparently not.

And is WTMJ going to let Darling camp out on its air through the entire recall process?

Judge In Madison Blocks Union-Busting Law From Taking Effect

For now, the law cannot be published, as the judge rules its hurried-approval didn't comply with Wisconsin's Open Meeting law.

Think about this. Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi is saying that lawmakers didn't follow the law when creating one.

And you wonder why we want as many of these lawmakers (sic) recalled and removed from office?

Tightening His Grip, Scott Walker Reclassifies 37 Key State Jobs To Political Status

Of course, these were civil service, apolitical, non-partisan state agency lawyer and communications positions before Walker, The Journal Sentinel tells us, slipped their conversion to "serve-me" status in his budget-repair (sic) bill.

Kinda makes Walker's praise for the value of civil service, shallow, shall we say?

I like the way the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found the open records context for the story - - Walker lost an open records case just two months into office, surely setting a record  - -  but news of these position switcheros has been around for nearly a month.

Discrimination Complaint Should Pull Back The Waukesha County Curtain

I didn't have time a few days ago to give the proper attention to an important legal filing regarding allegations of housing discrimination in Waukesha County, but can do so now.

The known racial disparities between Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties are deepened and widened by government planning and public dollar spending west of 124th St. - - the basic border between the two counties.

As a spokesman for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council - - the organization that brought a formal complaint to federal housing authorities  - - said upon its filing:

“Communities do not become and remain all-white by accident.  They get that way and stay that way because local governments and private actors erect barriers to racial and ethnic integration,” said William R. Tisdale, MMFHC’s President and CEO.  “The only reason the County and local governments are getting these federal housing funds is because they have promised to counteract these forces. Our complaint shines a bright light on their misrepresentations over the past five years.”

Let's shine that light widely and brightly.

As this very moment, Scott Walker has accelerated the spending of $1.7 billion in state and federal highway funds to ease the commute through the Zoo Interchange that sits between the two counties. And more spending is on the horizon west across Waukesha County to the Jefferson County line, and on a separate north-south bypass west of the City of Waukesha without similar expenditures for public transit.

The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning, headquartered in the exurban Waukesha County community of Pewaukee - - one-third of SEWRPC's annual operating budget comes from Milwaukee County taxpayers - - wrote the freeway expansion and rebuilding plan.

And has green-lighted the spending of another $23 million in local, state and federal dollars to build The Interchange To Nowhere - - a full-diamond interchange to the never-built shopping mall in the relatively upper-income, sprawly Pabst Farm development in Western Waukesha that is, along with the interchange site itself, on land that the commission's master plan said should be preserved.

And you still cannot take a direct, public transit bus from the region's major job center that is the City of Milwaukee (with its majority-minority population) to the largest such employment site in Waukesha County - - the New Berlin Industrial Park - - in the same, heavily-white city that, a year ago, blocked after protests, the construction of a housing development to have included so-called workforce, or affordable rental units.

Some public financing assistance was to have been included in the project

Additionally, SEWRPC repeatedly touted its master plan for decades without researching and issuing an updated, contemporary regional housing study - - an ongoing endeavor it agreed to begin, under pressure from fair housing advocates, after a 35-year lull.

See the picture emerging?

The complaint over how some federal grants are disbursed and used in Waukesha County communities should surface evidence about the history of the specific housing-related grants and programs and decision-making that has distorted development and restricted freedom of choice and movement in this region for decades.

Hats off to the groups that filed the complaint. Let the investigation begin, and, down the road, some remedies emerge.

Northshore Forum Sunday Featuring Abele, Kloppenburg

Walker's Environmental Retreats Echoing Across The Great Lakes

And people are dismayed.

Walker Video Supporting Recalls, Statewide Organizing Is Ironic

Oops.

Alberta Darling Recall Signatures Made Easy Saturday By Organizers

This arrived by email:

CONCERNED WISCONSIN STATE SENATE  DISTRICT 8 RESIDENTS:

The Easy Way To Sign The Alberta Darling Recall Petition:

   WHO NEEDS TO SIGN?   ANYONE WHO RESIDES IN STATE SENATE DISTRICT 8 AND WHO HASN'T SIGNED YET  (QUALIFIED ELECTORS 18 YEARS AND OLDER)           

  WHEN?   SATURDAY, MARCH 19   10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

     WHERE?    BAYSHORE PARK AND RIDE LOT  (WEST SIDE OF N. PORT WASHINGTON ROAD ACROSS FROM TRADER JOE’SH

                                                                     OR

                     BROWN DEER PARK AND RIDE LOT  (SOUTH SIDE OF BROWN DEER 

ROAD JUST WEST OF THE FREEWAY RAMP AND NEXT TO INDIAN HILL SCHOOL)

Randy Hopper, Or, The Senator Who Recalled Himself

Gonna wash that man right out of the Senate.

Milwaukee City Employee Speaks Up For Residency

Dan Casanove, sends from his home email account an op-ed quality defense of Milwaukee residency that Republican legislators want to repeal. Thank you, Dan:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a City of Milwaukee employee subject to the residency requirement and I wholeheartedly support it.  Quite simply, I support it because it promotes accountable and effective government.  Here are some more details on why I believe the residency requirement should remain intact:

-  Accountability:  Employees are more likely to be better stewards of tax dollars when it is their own tax dollars being used on projects or paying their salary.  I’ve worked for another municipality and can attest to the lack of concern over wasted tax dollars that employees who don’t live in that city can have.

-  Commitment, Loyalty and Pride:  In an age where public employees are vilified on a daily basis, an effective employee can’t just be working for a paycheck.  The taxpayers deserve someone who is loyal to and has pride in the City that employees them.  Would we expect the Packers to hire a diehard Bears fan?

-  Safety:  In the case of an emergency, whether a blizzard, major fire or worse, it is important that public employees can quickly and safely get to work to ensure the safety of the pubic, as we all expect.

-  Respect:  Will a resident respect a police officer who doesn’t live in the City?  Will an elected official have confidence in a non-resident employee’s decision, who may not always have the best interest of the City in mind?

-  Qualified:  City residents are better qualified to solve problems facing the City because they live among the citizens, talk to their neighbors and experience the City firsthand.  When something bad happens in the City, it impacts them just like everyone else.  To be an effective employee, understanding the city you work for is very important. 

-  Local Control:  The City should have control over how and where their tax dollars are spent, a large proportion of which are employee salaries and benefits.  If the City does not feel they are able to find qualified employees, it should be their decision to lift this requirement.  This should not be something decided by the State of Wisconsin. 

In addition to the above reasons, one should also consider the impacts that lifting residency will have on neighborhood stability and tax base in a City consistently ranked one of the poorest in the nation.  Losing taxpayer funded middle class residents would be an unnecessary setback to the City of Milwaukee and does nothing to solve the State of Wisconsin’s budget crisis.

Dan Casanova

The Journal Sentinel Has Changed Position On Milwaukee Residency, State Role

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel now supports state legislation ending residency requirements for public employees in Milwaukee - - but both the former Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel - - not known for much in the way of editorial board agreement from their respective, independent offices - - argued in separate editorials both for residency and against the state legislative interference.

In a March 15th editorial, the Journal' Sentinel editorial board began this way:

"Two bills in Madison would eliminate residency requirements for teachers and Milwaukee firefighters and police officers. The measures make sense, but they don't go far enough. The lifting of residency requirements should be fair and should bar all governments from telling any of their employees where they can live."

But when the city had the two separate papers, The Milwaukee Journal said this in February, 1995, as the issue heated up, and even labeled it a "life-and-death issue for the city:"

"If State lawmakers were seeking maliciously to speed decay in Milwaukee, they could hardly find a more effective method than to strike down the local residency rule for public employees.  That action would exacerbate poverty and joblessness in the city and deflate property values."

Followed by the Sentinel a day latter, which said the matter was - - and remember, this was the very conservative, former Hearst paper shut down by a 1962 strike  - - a subject for bargaining:

"Regardless of whether they believe in residency requirements, state legislators have no business taking it upon themselves to unilaterally change a policy that would have such a profound effect on the city of Milwaukee."

Here are the full texts of their former editorials:

Residency vital to city survival
Milwaukee Journal 2/9/95

    If State lawmakers were seeking maliciously to speed decay in Milwaukee, they could hardly find a more effective method than to strike down the local residency rule for public employees.  That action would exacerbate poverty and joblessness in the city and deflate property values.

    Public employees' unions have perennially tried to eliminate the residency rule – at the bargaining table, in arbitration and in the Legislature – to no avail so far, thank goodness.  But that was before the GOP takeover of the state Capitol.  Republicans generally keep more distance from organized labor than do Democrats – except on this issue, where the GOP and public employee unions seem dangerously close.

    The Legislature needs to recognize that the residency rule – and this is no hyperbole – is a life-or-death issue for the city.  Republican lawmakers should not want to accelerate Milwaukee's deterioration as their legacy.

    For the sake of home rule, as city officials aptly argue, local governments ought to retain the right to decide whether they want to institute residency requirements.  The state's butting in would amount to undue interference in local affairs.

    Besides, for the sake of its survival, Milwaukee needs to be allowed to reserve city jobs for city residents.  The twin evils of poverty and unemployment are hurting the city badly, straining municipal and school budgets and blighting neighborhoods.

    The suburbs are not innocent bystanders in this.  Generally, they have walled off the city through snob zoning and other ruses in order to contain the worst urban problems inside Milwaukee.  Its tax base diminishing as the middle class flees to the suburbs, the city is left to disproportionately shoulder the region's needy while pulling itself up by its own bootstraps.

    Reserving city jobs for city residents is one way Milwaukee can try doing that.  In other words, lacking adequate state and federal financial aid, the city is using its own resources to combat its poverty and joblessness and shore up its tax base.  The residency rule is a vital tool in that effort.

    The unions argue that residency rules violate employee rights, but the courts, significantly, have not agreed.  The judiciary appropriately has recognized the right of public employers to set residency as a condition of employment.  Nobody forces any employee to take a city job.

    Opponents of the city residency rule would, in effect, continue to wall in urban ills but install a gate through which urban assets – municipal jobs – could exit.  That's patently unfair.

Keep out, state
Cities decide their local residency rules
Milwaukee Sentinel 2/10/95

    Mayor John O. Norquist and Milwaukee aldermen have every right to be upset about a bill that would eliminate residency requirements for municipal and school employees.

    Regardless of whether they believe in residency requirements, state legislators have no business taking it upon themselves to unilaterally change a policy that would have such a profound effect on the city of Milwaukee.

    Political courtesy, if nothing else, requires that a change this monumental not be undertaken without input from elected local officials.

    It is they, after all, who best represent all city residents, not just those with a vested interest in abolishing the residency requirement, namely officials of certain local municipal employee unions.

    Fears by the mayor and aldermen, probably justifiable, that the bill will be put on a legislative fast track in the Republican-controlled Assembly make this move even more difficult to swallow.

    The legislation would prohibit Wisconsin cities, counties and school districts from requiring that their employees live in the city, county or school district that employs them.

    Sound arguments can be made on both sides of the question.

    Milwaukee officials believe about 7,400 city and Milwaukee Public Schools employees would move out of the city within 10 years if the law were passed.  That exodus would mean a decline in residential property values of as much as $550 million, according to a city study.

    There also is the valid argument that city employees need to reside in the community in which they serve in order to fully appreciate the problems and needs of that community.

    Those pushing for a change in the residency law contend that a city employee should have the freedom of choice to decide where he or she lives, which is not an unreasonable idea.

    In fact, last November, the Milwaukee Sentinel argued against the residency requirement for school teachers.  Confining the teacher pool to the city, we argued, reduces the odds of finding quality teachers at a time when top-shelf teachers are needed more than ever.

    The real problem here is the how this is being done – behind the backs of city officials – and where – in Madison, not Milwaukee.

    As Ald. Wayne P. Frank noted, these discussions should properly be taking place at the bargaining table between the parties with the most at stake – the city and its employee unions.

Waukesha County Sued For Housing Discrimination

Here's the release:

DATE:                      March 16, 2011

CONTACT:              Michael Allen, Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC

PHONE:                   202-277-5551

 

FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL FILES DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT
AGAINST WAUKESHA COUNTY

Milwaukee, WI – The Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council (MMFHC) has filed a complaint with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) alleging that Waukesha County has engaged in illegal housing discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin, and that the County has violated HUD’s mandate to affirmatively further fair housing.

In order to receive federal funds, including CDBG and HOME dollars, Waukesha County must certify to HUD that it analyzes impediments to fair housing and takes action to overcome identified impediments.  MMFHC’s complaint alleges that the County has failed to comply with its own civil rights certifications and has continued funding local governments whose laws and policies perpetuate racial and ethnic segregation.

 Since 2006, MMFHC alleges, more than $12,500,000 in federal CDBG and HOME funds has been deployed to 35 individual jurisdictions without adequate consideration for its impact on fair housing choice by people of color.  The complaint alleges that the County funding policy has the effect of perpetuating racial and ethnic segregation.  Specifically, by continuing to fund jurisdictions – like New Berlin, Brookfield, Menomonee Falls, the City of Waukesha, Mukwonago and others – that have actively prevented the development of affordable housing, the County discourages integration of mostly-white communities.

MMFHC alleges that Waukesha County’s deliberate actions to limit housing development contribute to racial segregation, in that the County and several of its municipalities have blocked the development of affordable housing in order to avoid the effect such housing would have on majority white communities, where it would be perceived to promote integration on the basis of race, color and national origin.

 The Milwaukee – Waukesha metropolitan area is the most segregated region in the nation for African-Americans and in the top third of large metropolitan areas for residential segregation of Hispanics. 

While Milwaukee County’s population is racially and ethnically diverse, Waukesha County’s population is starkly homogeneous.  Nearly every community in Waukesha County is at least 95% white.  A number of Waukesha County municipalities did not include a single African-American in recent census counts.

“Communities do not become and remain all-white by accident.  They get that way and stay that way because local governments and private actors erect barriers to racial and ethnic integration,” said William R. Tisdale, MMFHC’s President and CEO.  “The only reason the County and local governments are getting these federal housing funds is because they have promised to counteract these forces. Our complaint shines a bright light on their misrepresentations over the past five years.”

MMFHC filed the complaint after several years of working with a coalition of organizations including the ACLU of Wisconsin, Legal Action of Wisconsin, IndependenceFirst, Disability Rights Wisconsin, and Pledl & Cohn, S.C., all of which have a shared goal of increasing housing opportunities throughout Southeastern Wisconsin.

Each of these organizations, individually and in concert, has made attempts to promote integration and affordable housing opportunities in Waukesha County.   Given the institutional barriers posed by County government and detailed in the HUD complaint, however, coalition members’ efforts were stymied.

MMFHC is a private, non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote fair housing throughout the State of Wisconsin by combating illegal housing discrimination and by creating and maintaining racially and economically integrated housing patterns.  It operates satellite offices in Dane County (the Fair Housing Center of Greater Madison) and in Northeast Wisconsin (the Fair Housing Center of Northeast Wisconsin).

Persons who feel they may have experienced unfair lending practices or illegal housing discrimination should call 414-278-1240 or 1-877-647-FAIR (a toll-free number for use outside the 414 area code).

Business Donations Far Exceed Labor Donations, And GOP Wins Big, Report Shows

Kudos to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign for reviewing state campaign records and knocking down the conflation that Big Labor = Big Business in campaigning spending.

The report shows far more corporate than labor dollars in state campaigns.

And, of course, the GOP is the partisan winner on the tilted playing field.

Just wait until the funding sieve opened in the crazy US Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United allows unlimited corporate money into campaigns.

Jeff Stone Says He Supports The Milwaukee County Bus System, But...

...does his support (maintaining the system we have now, says Patch), include opposing Scott Walker's budget plan that eliminates dedicated state transit aids, meaning fare hikes, trimmed lines and even cuts to rides in Milwaukee County for the elderly and disabled?

If that's support, it's not very helpful.

Cory Mason, Environmental Champion, Spoke Strongly For Union Rights

Nice column in the Madison media about Racine's Cory Mason.

Scott Walker Celebrates Sunshine Week By Losing An Open Records Lawsuit

As Wisconsin Gov.-elect, Scott Walker told the Wisconsin State Journal he'd "absolutely" be a leader in open government and transparency.

"Walker also pledges that his administration will be responsive to open records requests, regularly submit to questioning by the media, disclose the names of those inside and outside the administration that he's meeting with, and provide detailed weekly — perhaps even daily — schedules."

Blogger Cory Liebmann had earlier posted some history that should have thrown doubt on Walker's pledge.

Anyway - - why after Walker became Governor did it take a lawsuit, court action and hefty payments of tax money Wednesday to force Walker to fill an Open Records case that his stonewalling transformed into litigation? That he lost?

As The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday:

"Records case. Also Wednesday, Walker's office settled an open records lawsuit brought by two media outlets.

"The Associated Press and the Madison weekly newspaper Isthmus filed the lawsuit on March 4 seeking e-mails sent to Walker by the public weighing in on his union bargaining legislation.

"On Wednesday, Isthmus posted a story to its website saying that under the settlement Walker did not acknowledge any fault but agreed to produce the records and pay attorney's fees and costs of around $7,000. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie confirmed those details."

Scott Walker's Capital Budget Will Dampen Economic Recovery

John Kovari, a UW-M doctoral candidate in Political Science, offers a solid guest posting about Scott Walker's proposed capital budget - - a lesser-visible spending plan separate from Walker's policy-laden operating budget that has received far more publicity.

Kovari has worked in community development and was staff aide to Milwaukee Common Council member Michael Murphy.

I am happy to publush it below:

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Walker's infrastructure cuts will cost jobs

While Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial actions regarding public employees in the 2011-12 operating budget has dominated the news lately, it’s Walker’s less visible $1.1 billion capital budget that has me more disappointed and worried.

Walker is calling for a 29% decrease in capital projects (i.e. infrastructure) over the next two years, presumably to curb state costs.

The problem is that the state’s capital budget is integrally tied to the performance of the state’s economy, and the cuts will actually muddle Wisconsin’s recovery.

Although the capital budget is relatively tiny – making up less than 0.5% of the state’s GDP – it can still have a major impact on the state’s output.

Economists and political scientists have studied budgets enough to know that public spending (especially in infrastructure) positively impacts the economy.  In fact, public spending on capital projects is often deemed more significant than annual operating budgets in growing the economy.  Please read Aschauer (1989) and Gramlich (1994) for details.

In short, the value of new infrastructure is directly capitalized into Wisconsin’s economy, because that infrastructure is worth something and jobs are required to build those projects.  I’ve explored this topic with regard to local County budgets here as well.

Unfortunately, this makes Walker’s infrastructure cuts seem counter-productive.

I understand that the state’s revenues are down, the economy’s in a slump, and “we’re broke.”

But my argument here is that cutting the capital budget so drastically will actually dampen Wisconsin’s recovery.  Three short but major points to support my argument:

First, Walker’s capital cuts are so drastic that they are typical of what budgeting academics call a “punctuation.”  Yes, that’s the technical term.  And there’s evidence that negative punctuations hinder economic growth (in terms of jobs, unemployment, and personal income).  Businesses love infrastructure, and their investment usually follows the public investment.  Drastic cuts undermine that relationship.

Next, in a survey of municipal and county administrators I conducted along with UW-Madison economist Steve Deller and UW-Oshkosh political scientist Craig Maher, we found that there is little success in abating fiscal stress by cutting or delaying capital projects and/or maintenance.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Walker’s tax breaks won’t have the intended stimulative effects unless the state’s projects and services are kept constant.  Cutting both services and taxes will wash economically.  Thus, when the state’s infrastructure budget is cut by nearly one-third, it’s going to offset the benefit of the tax cuts.

Gov.  Walker beefed up the 2010 County capital budget in an attempt to stimulate job growth.  It would make sense that he would do the same as Governor.  Unfortunately, less infrastructure spending will only lead to slimmer job growth.  Here’s hoping the Legislature will review the bad economics of this move and establish a stronger capital budget.

Club For Growth Throws Nazi-Era Reference Towards Madison Leaders

The Right gets angry when they see anti-George Bush or anti-Scott Walker posters making Nazi references - - and I have been critical on my blog of people who make that sort of connection - - but today I see this on a Wisconsin Club for Growth web page.

"Bush-league brownshirts

We were mistaken last week to credit Secretary of State Doug LaFollette for refusing to delay publication of the collective bargaining bill. He now says he’ll take the full ten days he’s allowed. In perspective, though, LaFollete’s actions are obnoxious but legal. Contrast him with the two candidates for Mayor of Madison.  

Incumbent Madison Mayor David Cieslewicz ordered his police chief not to allow his officers to remove any protesters from the Capitol and he and his challenger, former Mayor Paul Soglin, both have called for boycotts of local businesses that support Governor Walker or don’t support the government union agenda. In other words, whoever is elected April 5, Madison’s mayor will be someone who has openly threatened the livelihoods of people in legitimate, taxpaying businesses.  Businesses that employ untold thousands of other taxpaying citizens who foot the bill so the thugs who threaten them can have their fat pensions and cheap health care.    

"Let us not shrink from calling this what it is. Modern society’s short attention span tempts us to say nothing like this has been seen before. But this is a training-wheels version of things we have seen before; things that escalate so long as they succeed. You can watch them unfold on TV almost every night. Check the History Channel."

Just so we're clear:

Brownshirts? Really? Let's check the dictionary:

• "S: (n) Brownshirt (a member of the Nazi SA which wore brown uniforms)

WordNet home page"

 

Republicans Find More Than Fat Cat Cash In DC Tonight

It was going to be a lovely soiree at Haley Barbour's lobbying offices, but when the anti-union bunch from Wisconsin got there...

Protesters! Everywhere. On, Wisconsin!

In Wisconsin, Pesky Law Trips Up Dictatorial Republican Legislators

Could it be that Wisconsin is still Wisconsin, and not WalkerWorld or Fitzwalkerstan?

And About That No-Tax-Increase State Budget...Explain Away This 20% Increase

Play with and parse the language of public finances all you want - - and remember how talk radio and others conservatives gripe when a new fee is added or an old one raised instead to avoid a politically-damaging tax increase.

So go stand with Scott Walker and say with a straight face that tuition is not a tax, but Wisconsin students and their families know that raising tuition is just another way for the state to collect money.

UW-Madison is estimating a 20% increase over two years.

And separately, income taxes are going up for thousands of low-income working poor, too.

There's your no-tax-increase budget.

Jim Sullivan Endorsement Of Chris Abele For Milwaukee County Executive

Jim Sullivan didn't make it through the February primary for Milwaukee County Executive, but released a statement today strongly endorsing Chris Abele. Here is the text:

From the Desk of Jim Sullivan  Dear Friend: The battle over worker rights in Madison over the past several weeks is a dramatic example why we need to elect leaders who will fight for us and stand up for our shared values. That's why I enthusiastically endorse Chris Abele for Milwaukee County Executive, and urge you to do everything you can to help elect him on April 5th. He will bring the change and reform Milwaukee County desperately needs, and he will stand up for what's right. Your help can make the difference in this critical election on April 5th. Join us as we launch a major canvass to talk directly to voters on Saturday, March 26 at 10:00 am. Chris knows Milwaukee County government needs a new direction. He will work hard to undo the damage caused by eight years of Scott Walker's polarizing politics and fiscal mismanagement. And Chris understands how important it is to protect and strengthen vital County services that people depend on every day. Chris will reverse the decline of our once-proud transit system, and restore the bus system's ability to connect workers to jobs and help people move around our community. Chris knows that our parks are treasures that must be preserved, and that we cannot tolerate the scandals that have plagued our mental health system. But we all need to do our part to make sure Chris Abele is elected Milwaukee County Executive on April 5th. You can do your part on Saturday, March 26 as we knock on doors and talk directly with voters about the need for change at Milwaukee County after years of Scott Walker's failed policies. The past several weeks have shown us why it's so critical to stay active, and stand with leaders who stand with us. I'm proud to endorse Chris Abele for Milwaukee County Executive, and I urge you to do everything you can to help him get elected on April 5th. Thank you, Jim Sullivan PS - We have less than three weeks to make sure we send Chris Abele to the Milwaukee County Executive's office on April 5th. Your help can make the difference -- join us at our canvass on March 26 as we deliver Chris' message of change and reform directly to voters' doorstep. Paid for by the friends of Jim Sullivan, Chris Knowlton, Treasurer, as an in-kind contribution to Chris Abele for County Executive, Jeff Peelen, Treasurer.

Alberta Darling's Campaign Website Touts Issues That Walker, GOP Legislators Are Attacking

She's the co-chair of the Joint Committee on Financing lead the charge for Scott Walker's anti-union budget 'repair' bill, and strongly supports the Walker agenda - - see her unguarded moment on videotape, here - -  but to hear the soon-to-be-recalled River Hills State Senate Republican Alberta Darling tell her story, she's something of a liberal.

Increased school funding? Wetlands protections? The State Stewardship Fund? Medicaid coverages? And more (the bold-facing is mine) - - all taken from her campaign website. Read in full now.

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...Understanding that a strong education system is the key to Wisconsin’s economic future, Darling has fought to continually provide increases in state aid for K-12 public education, and has worked to ensure that this aid is distributed equitably to local school districts...

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...Understanding that a clean environment and job growth go hand-in-hand, Darling voted to strengthen the “Brownfields” program to clean up environmental contamination and spur economic development. She also voted to strengthen protection of wetlands, and as an advocate for Wisconsin’s sporting
heritage, voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to affirm sportsmen’s right to hunt and fish.

Darling supported the recent reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to protect vulnerable environmental treasures and expand recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts..

---

Wisconsin needs health care reform that gives people more control of their coverage, their dollars and their medical decisions. The focus of Senator Darling’s health care agenda is to reduce the cost of medical care, increase access to affordable coverage, and improve the quality of health care services.
Darling has continually voted to provide necessary funding for programs that serve vulnerable populations, including Medicaid, BadgerCare and the SeniorCare prescription drug assistance program. She also successfully fought to increase funding for breast cancer and cervical screening services under the Wisconsin Well Woman Program...

UW Scholar Traces Rise Of The Wisconsin Right

Noted UW-Madison Environmental Historian William Cronon turns his exceptional research and writing skills to the resurgent Right and posts a must-read, annotated essay online, here.

As he explains in his:

"A Study Guide for Those Wishing to Know More"

"After watching the sudden and impressively well-organized wave of legislation being introduced into state legislatures that all seem to be pursuing parallel goals only tangentially related to current fiscal challenges–ending collective bargaining rights for public employees, requiring photo IDs at the ballot box, rolling back environmental protections, privileging property rights over civil rights, and so on–I’ve found myself wondering where all of this legislation is coming from."

Take the time to read it.

Cronon focuses on the training offered to conservative legislators by ALEC, the American Leadership Exchange Council - - and I swear I have seen attendance at or travel to its meetings by Republican legislators listed on state legislative ethics disclosure statements.


I had also found earlier that ALEC is another recipient of Koch Industries funding, so you can see that the financial and strategic influence of Koch Industries and other conservative/libertarian funders extends to entities with lower profiles, than, say, than, say, Americans for Prosperity or the Cato Institute or The Heritage Foundation.

Cronon notes the Right's impressive ability to organize and networ, adding:

"Again, I want anyone reading this post to understand that I am emphatically not questioning the legitimacy of advocacy networks in a democracy. To the contrary: I believe they are essential to democracy.}

A big ALEC effort these days, according to its website is undermining attention to and belief in climate change. It also offers materials on school choice, state budgets, public pensions and "undoing Obamacare."

You get the picture.

Prof. Cronon has done a service as a historian to help people understand what's behind headlines and trends and events that began long before the 2010 election and also to explain the direction in which we're being pulled.

As he concludes:

"...what we’ve witnessed in Wisconsin during the opening months of 2011 did not originate in this state, even though we’ve been at the center of the political storm in terms of how it’s being implemented. This is a well-planned and well-coordinated national campaign, and it would be helpful to know a lot more about it."

Alberta Darling On Tape, Unguarded - - Loving Union-Busting and Walker, Too

Uh, oh: Darling spills the beans.

Alberta Darling's Politifact History: Not So Truthy

I've seen Wisconsin State Sen. Alberta Darling, (R-River Hills), on local TV appearing a little dumbfounded by the recall heading her way.  She has been shilling so blatantly for Scott Walker - - and caught on video boosting him and his union-busting - - since his election - - to which she directed $6.250, by the way - - that she hasn't even been able to get her facts straight.

So not so truthy, which. for someone of her experience, is not so good.

Darling has been in the legislature since 1990, and currently co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance - - which will handle Walker's budget and had quickly recommended his phony, union-busting "budget repair"/not-budget repair bill - -  all of which makes her flubs and fibs and political opaqueness a little more troubling.

From the PolitiFact files:

Alberta Darling's file:

Alberta Darling's website
Our Alberta Darling feeds
 A feed of statements by Darling
 A feed stories mentioning Darling

Recent statements involving Alberta Darling

Limiting labor negotiations to only wages is "how it is for the most part in the private sector.

Alberta Darling

Actually, federal law requires bargaining on many other topics

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

When it comes to the state deficit, Wisconsin is "proportionally in as much trouble as the State of California."

Alberta Darling

By one measure, she’s close – by another not as much

WalkerWorld Don't Abide Transit: Whiners - - Drive, Or Walk

You can tell that Scott Walker had a really bad time in Milwaukee County government.

Gawd - - all that talk, that dreary droning at the County Board, and by those advocates, too - - always about the buses and low-income people and disabled people and people who didn't have - - what? - cars!

All the while the poor set-upon County Executive-Cum-Governor was just trying to finish that Maple Bluff Mansion daydream. The one where he became the First Domino, but it was always "Save the buses!" - - and poof, the dream would go away.

We're learning that payback for the dream-killers is coming. More about that in a bit.

But back to what bored Walker all those years: that that wonky, wordy talk from some of the bus people about wanting to spread the pain, the virus to regional transit authorities? And they had this cooperation mantra, the one about linking workers to jobs?

Absurd. If you wanted a job - - like out at New Berlin's Industrial Park - -  you needed to drive there.

The dream and the dreamer himself didn't like that talk. All the phrases and rules and maps and the work and the syllables.

Same for that Jim Doyle/Barack Obama/Serve The Liberals-in-Madison train.

In WalkerWorld, or FitzWalkerstan, or wherever it is we are living these days you don't get no stinkin' trains or transit systems or dedicated funding because there's Interstate lanes to pave and freeways to expand and road-builders to party with.

Now The Dream is real and it comes with a plan.

The Plan.

The Plan drawn up for Walker has synced-up libertarian and conservative rationalizations offered by the Reason Foundation, and Heritage, and Cato, and the Tea Party and Karl Rove's shop - - and in the outrage of the day today The Plan lets Walker harpoon those bus and transit people with increased bus fares plus canceled mainlines. freeway flyers, festival runs, rides for the disabled and all that regionalism crapola through separate legislation, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

You transit people keep interrupting the dream, so how do you like me now, Walker is saying, with his legislative chorus of transit haters singing backup.

And if you don't like it, buy a car or lace up you boots, because Wisconsin is closed to transit.

No-Bid Power Plant Sale Language Not In Wisconsin Budget-Repair (sic) Bill

I had included erroneous information in a blog posting a few days ago - - and subsequently taken down - - about what was in the budget-repair (sic) bill rushed to approval in the state legislature, and want to post more accurate information linked here.

In short: permission for the Walker administration to sell Wisconsin's 37 state-owned power plants, even under no-bid circumstances, remains in his budget proposal, and that will not come to a vote for some weeks.

Walker's Anti-Union Offensive Makes Washington Post List Of Exotic, Tea Party Actions

Scott Walker earns a place in a dubious grouping.

WTMJ Is "Newsradio 620" And More

Charlie Sykes' donations undermine the station's nameplate, even though the talker himself isn't marketed as a news person.

Walker's Home Town Wauwatosa Running Out Of Road Salt

I expect to see the Walkers out on Blue Mound Rd. with their salt shakers the next time it snows.

Coarse-ground is recommended, but regular Morton's will do, in a pinch.

Less salt on Scott's brown bag meals - - but there's the up side of shared sacrifice.

Vice-Emperor Fitzgerald Lifts Clumsy Penalties Against Senate Democrats

Well, it took but a single day of bad headlines and jibes to return Scott Fitzgerald to his senses and respect for democracy- - and to lessen the chance that national media would pounce on him for an explanation tomorrow when he is off to the big city to collect "attaboy" donations from big contributors.

Walker Tweet Repeats False No Tax Increase Budget Claim

His budget will increase state income taxes for some working poor, but I guess they don't count in this divide and tax strategy:

GovWalker Governor Walker

Protecting middle class taxpayers is a priority! Our budget has NO increase in property, income & sales tax.

3 hours ago 

Quicker Paths for Japan Disaster Donations

There are claims online that some phone companies are not forwarding immediately to Japan contributions that donors are sending via text.

Here is a list of organizations to which contributions can be made directly:

Oxfam America: http://chn.ge/hd3n4C

International Medical Corps: http://chn.ge/hhkQhT

Habitat for Humanity: http://chn.ge/e8OX7r

UN Foundation: http://chn.ge/hVZ5uu

American Red Cross: http://chn.ge/eWtkti

UNICEF: http://chn.ge/hDASyY

Darling, Grothman, Fitzgeralds Jetting Off To DC For FatCatCashFest

A big lobbying firm in Washington, DC, with Wisconsin connections and founded by Haley Barbour is throwing a cash bash for our band of embattled Wisconsin Privateers Wednesday.

Recall rainy day fund?

And Speaking of PolitiFact, Here's A Republican Falsehood About Gas Prices

Congressional Republicans falsely blame the current spike in gasoline prices - - attributable to Libya's civil war and other actors - - to EPA greenhouse emission rules that might take place in three or four years.

Key Claim In Karl Rove TV Ad For Walker Rated "Barely True" By PolitiFact

Hey - - Walker is having a good day: PolitiFact finds the message in Karl Rove's Walker-support ad running on state TV "barely true."

Which is a polite way of saying, 'mostly false.' 

Still, it's a mini-step up from "false" and "pants-on-fire" ratings stamped on many things Walker-related.

If there were a "Sheenometer," Walker would be "winning" today.

Still, as I noted earlier, the ad by Karl Rove's new national conservative advocacy group "Crossroads GPS" so manipulated union worker compensation data that the originator of said data, The Cato Institute - - a libertarian organization in Washington, DC - - had complained publicly about it.

Walker Budget Will Force Cuts To Milwaukee-Area Water Pollution Prevention

New restrictions mandated by Scott Walker 's proposed budget will force the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District to trim $165 million from programs aimed at cleaning local waterways, officials say.

Will local talk radio turn its fire on their boy when pollution finds its way into area streams and lakes as a result?

 I doubt it.

I'll Be On Madison 1670 AM At 9:05 This Morning

Talking Walker and the environment.

Scott Fitzgerald, A Leader's Self-Parody, Is Out Of Order

So State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald decides to play God and play with the Senate rules - - some more - - and wipe out Senate Democrats' committee votes.

Can someone stop this cartoon character from embarrassing himself and the state again and again?

Having failed to broker a compromise, and having overseen a buffoonish legislative, unethical debacle, and having overdosed on the false celebrity delivered by a few fleeting and forgettable seconds on Fox News, Fitzgerald reveals himself - - when the moment calls for leadership and statesmanship after the Democratic Senators returned to the Capitol - - as he demanded - - to be a little man, a walking-talking-historical asterisk who is running - - and running down - - the institution that is the Wisconsin State Senate.

And saying the Democrats are in contempt and their votes on behalf of their constituents will not be recorded- - after he brayed for three weeks that they should return?

Payback is not leadership.

Saying someone is in contempt when one's behavior is brazenly contemptible reminds me of someone else who needed to be told he was out of order.

Contemptible Scott Fitzgerald Still Playing The Game

Now attacking his colleagues voting rights - - maybe they should leave again? Didn't he demand they return? Is there a ring kiss needed?

As GOP Said When A Business Left Wisconsin, 'This Was The Governor's Fault"

And let them eat cake.

Blog Postings Roll Past 7,000 Since 2007 - - Without Our Attention Diverted

The very first posting was about Milwaukee selling water to suburban New Berlin: substitute "Waukesha" in that item for "New Berlin," and understand that Scott Walker is fast-tracking the Waukesha application for Lake Michigan water, and you can see our attention here at the home office is still without diversion.

Excellent Summary Of Walker Environmental Damage To Wisconsin...So Far

Thanks to 1000 Friends of Wisconsin for many links and the fine summary.

How Walker's Bill Interferes In Unions' Internal Affairs

The union-busting bill pushed through the Legislature at Scott Walker's behest (Big Business says, "Attaboy") contains multiple restrictions on unions and collective bargaining - - but none more punitive thnt this:

To represent members, each public employee union will have to reconstitute itself every year in an election with a winning margin of 51% of union members eligible to vote - - not 51% of the union member who show up and vote.

Very few elected officials - - Scott Walker included - - would have been elected if they had to poll 51% of all eligible voters.

The bill uses state power and law to stack the deck against the unions. Talk about Big Government ...How can this be legal?

Part of what I call The Plan to reduce union power, progressive policy and Democratic turnout in Wisconsin.

Full description here.

After Jeff Stone Gets Spanked On April 5th...

and has to settle for his Greendale Assembly seat at 1/3 the salary of the Milwaukee County Executive office pay be will be denied by county voters, look for him to push his voter ID bill to stamp on the electorate in Milwaukee County to try and save Alberta Darling in her inevitable recall election.

It's all part of The Plan - - reduce turnout (Voter ID), reduce Democratic turnout (wipe out unions), pad Republican war chests (The Citizens United Supreme Court ruling bring unlimited corporate cash into the election process), and reward Republican donors with privatized public assets and services (Walker's no-bid giveaway of state power plants; increase state funding to private choice schools, etc.) - - who will give more money to people like Walker and Stone who do their political bidding.